OBIT: The Sun Mar 25, 1988, Athena Christou (nee Stamathis) wife of late Dimitrios Christou, mother of Mary A. Belcastro, George Christou, Catherine Francus (illegitimate child), and the late Christos and Emmanuel Christou, sister of Anna Cotsaris, George, Harry and Dan Stamathis, 11 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Friends may call at the Robert C. Altenburg Funeral Home, Inc. 6009 Harford Road on Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9pm Funeral services in St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on Monday at 11am Interment in Oak Lawn Cemetery, in lieu of flowers those desiring may direct memorial contributions to the American Heart Association.

OBIT: The Sun Mar 28 1988 p 3D Athena Christou, Owned Dundalk Tavern. Services for Athena Christou, the owner of a family tavern in Dundalk will be held at 11am today at st. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 520 S. Ponca St. Mrs. Christou, who was 72, died Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital, following a short illness. She operated the Traveler's Lounge in the 6500 block of Holabird Avenue, a neighborhood bar that she and her late husband Dimitrios Christou, built in 1953 on the site of a pumpkin patch. Known to her patrons as Ms. Tina, Mrs. Christou tended bar the tavern until the day she entered the hospital. In recent years, she lived in her office in the bar. The former Athena Stamathis married her husband in 1942 in New York City, and they moved to Baltimore the following year. The couple owned at least two small restaurants before they built the bar next door to their home at 6504 Holabird Ave, across the street from the Fort Holabird Industrial Park. For many years, the bar catered to the soldiers who were stationed at Fort Holabird. After her husband's death in 1956. Mrs. Christou operated the bar on her own. She usually worked 12 to 14-hour days at the bar, open daily from 7am to 2am. Born in Tarpon Springs, Fla., Mrs. Christou attended elementary school there. At the time of the 1929 stock market crash, her father, a grocer, lost $50,000. Because of this, he sent three of his nine children - including Athena - to live with an uncle in Hopewell, VA, where she attended high school. She then moved to New York where she worked in a relative's photography studio. Mrs. Christou is survived by a son, George Christou of Baltimore; two daughters, Mary Belcastro and Catherine Francus, both of Rosedale; three brothers, Harry Stamathis of Tarpon Springs, and George Stamathis and Danny Stamathis, both of Essex; a sister, Anna Cotsaris of Dundalk; 11 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.